Final answer:
The early stages of anemia of chronic disease are typically characterized by normocytic anemia, wherein the red blood cells are normal in size but decreased in number. This type of anemia is distinguished from microcytic, macrocytic, and hypochromic anemias by its mean corpuscle volume (MCV) measure.
Step-by-step explanation:
The early stages of anemia of chronic disease are typically characterized by normocytic (MCV) anemia. This means that the size of red blood cells (RBCs) remains normal, but there may be a decrease in their number. In contrast, microcytic (MCV) anemia would show smaller-than-normal RBCs, often seen in conditions such as iron deficiency anemia.
Macrocytic (MCV) anemia is characterized by larger-than-normal RBCs and can be associated with vitamin B12 or folate deficiency. Furthermore, hypochromic (MCV) anemia pertains to RBCs that have less hemoglobin than normal, which can also occur in iron deficiency anemia.
Anemias can result from a variety of factors, including chronic diseases and conditions that affect the production of erythropoietin (EPO), such as chronic kidney disease, hypothyroidism, and certain forms of cancer, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis.
Therefore answer is 1) Normocytic (MCV) anemia.